• Labour again walks out of negotiation, insists on N494,000
• Minimum wage committee meeting postponed indefinitely
• OPS: Increasing wages by 100% suicidal for businesses

 
With 48 hours to the expiration of the May 31 deadline issued by organised labour to the Federal Government to conclude negotiations on a new minimum wage for the country, another round of workers’ shutdown is inevitable as the tripartite committee on minimum wage yesterday, postponed its meeting indefinitely following another walkout by labour leaders after government increased its offer to N60,000.

   
At the resumed meeting of the committee in Abuja yesterday, the Federal Government added N3,000 to its initially proposed N57,000 minimum wage, making it N60,000 proposed so far from its earlier stance of N48,000. The organised labour, comprising the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), also went down by N3,000 from its last proposal of N497,000.
   
According to a source who gave the breakdown of yesterday’s meeting, the amount proposed by the government did not go down well with labour leaders. A labour leader who spoke to our correspondent before the meeting started, noted that organised labour would only go lower if the government went higher on its demands.
   
“This is simply a case of if they go higher, we will go lower. They need to propose something reasonable for us to propose something lower too. There is no two-way about it. So, as long as the government is ready to present something reasonable, we will meet them in the middle,” the labour leader said.
   
But yesterday’s meeting ended in a stalemate as members of organised labour walked out of the negotiation process after the government proposed N60,000 as the minimum wage and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) also tallied with the Federal Government on N60,000.
   
Leading the delegation from the labour side were NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and his TUC counterpart, Festus Osifo. They said the Federal Government was unserious about the negotiation process and not also sincere enough to the plight of Nigerian workers.  
   
According to them, “We cannot continue negotiating forever. It is the responsibility of the government to live up to its promise of a living wage. President Bola Tinubu has promised Nigerian workers a living wage and anybody that speaks to the contrary sabotages the president.”
   
The labour source told The Guardian that there was a pre-meeting where the labour leaders strategised on how to approach the committee. He said: “We are being systematic, strategic and scientific in this cycle of national minimum wage negotiations. We have learned from past experiences. The labour side has asked the government to break down what they are offering.  If you are offering Nigerian workers N60,000, it must be based on something.  
 
 “We walked out for them to agree on something reasonable and while at that we will start mobilisation towards the necessary actions as would be directed by the relevant organs of the trade unions. 
   
“Currently, some of our unions and affiliates have started mobilising towards action but whatever action would be taken would be decided by the relevant organs of the two trade unions. They will meet and decide on the course of action to take. On the expiration of the May 31st deadline, there will be a meeting.” 
   
The OPS spokesperson in the ongoing negotiation, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, while speaking on the outcome of the meeting, said they were going along with the Federal Government to increase the minimum wage by 100 per cent from N30,000 to N60,000. He lamented that it was suicidal to increase the minimum wage by over 100 per cent, especially now that no private sector business has made any increase in the last five years.  
   
“We have to consult with our members and were forced to go along with the government. Our position still stands on the N57,000 proposed in the last meeting and that salary increment should be measured on productivity. 
   
“Productivity should be a key driver of higher wages. Employees should be able to navigate their paths toward higher wages through increased productivity and value addition. Notwithstanding the ongoing challenges, made worse by rising interest rates, astronomical logistics costs, increasing energy tariff and multiple taxes, levies and fees, the private sector remained committed to the N57,000 and will continue to support the welfare of workers and the protection of their jobs, which can only be guaranteed by the survival of the enterprise,” he said.  
 
 Oyerinde, who is also the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), urged the committee to prioritise job creation and job security given the worrisome and increasing rate of unemployment. 
 
He urged the National Minimum Wage Committee to refocus its efforts on protecting jobs, boosting the capacity of the private sector to create more jobs and ensuring sustainability and ability to pay.
 
While explaining the current realities of the OPS, the Director-General said in the last three years, companies have either exited the country, shut down, or changed business models with many other multinational companies declaring over N1 trillion in combined losses.  
   
The tripartite committee on minimum wage has, however, postponed its meeting “sine die”, sources familiar with the matter told our correspondent on Tuesday. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, sine die means a situation, “without any future date being designated (as for resumption): implying indefinitely.”
Legal Choices, a law website also describes sine die as a Latin word used when a law case has no fixed date for resumption.
   
Speaking with our correspondent, one of the sources who is a leader of the NLC, said: “The meeting ended in a stalemate and meetings have been adjourned sine die. The government proposed N60,000 was not accepted by labour.”